Determining the status of health-enhancing lifestyle of Gilan medical science students according to individual and social characteristics

Chapter One

Field of research:

Lifestyle[1] is the normal and routine daily activities that people accept in their lives, so that these activities affect people's health (1). By choosing a lifestyle to maintain and improve his health and prevent diseases, a person performs actions and activities such as following a proper diet, sleep and activity, exercise, body weight control, not smoking and alcohol and immunization against diseases (2). It is well known that people's lifestyle affects their health (3). A health-promoting lifestyle is an important determining factor for health status (4). Health promoting behaviors and healthy lifestyle are the main strategies to facilitate and maintain health. This issue is emphasized in the objectives of the "Health for All Program" of the World Health Organization. Many health problems such as obesity, cardiovascular diseases, types of cancers and addiction that are seen in most countries today, especially in developed countries, are related to the changes in the lifestyle of people in those societies (5). Especially non-communicable diseases that have a close relationship with lifestyle (2).

Health promotion is the science and art of changing the lifestyle in order to achieve the desired perfection and includes behaviors during which a person should eat properly, exercise regularly, avoid destructive behaviors and drugs, protect against accidents, detect signs of illness in time in the physical dimension, control emotions, feelings and thoughts and cope with stress and problems in the mental dimension and It deals with psychology, independence and adaptation and modification of interpersonal relationships in the social dimension (6). And the cause of many chronic diseases is human lifestyle and behaviors, and performing health-enhancing behaviors is one of the most important ways that people can maintain their health (7). The six important components of a health-promoting lifestyle include health responsibility[2], physical activity[3], nutritional habits[4], stress management[5], spiritual growth[6] and interpersonal relationships[7](8). Packer et al.[8] and Wei et al.[9] showed that the lowest health-promoting lifestyle score was related to the area of ??health responsibility (4, 10).

Regular physical activity plays an essential role in preventing and controlling diseases and promoting health in individuals and groups (11). Performing regular physical activity in young people plays an important role in preventing obesity, improving cardiovascular function and osteoporosis (12). Inactivity is one of the important risk factors for the spread of non-communicable diseases in the world. So that about two million deaths occur annually in the world due to lack of physical activity (13). Regular physical activity reduces the risk of premature death, death due to heart diseases, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, colon cancer, breast cancer, depression and anxiety, body weight control, building and maintaining healthy bones, muscles and joints, less hospitalization and reducing the need for doctor visits and medication (11). A study by Ahmad Nia et al. showed that 19.2% of nursing and midwifery students had good physical activity, and the type of physical activity in most of them was walking (14). A study by Rejali et al also showed that 48.6% of medical and health students were active and 51.4% were inactive in terms of physical activity. Also, in terms of intense physical activity, 32.6% were active and 76.4% were inactive (15). Mohammadi Zaidi and colleagues reported that the physical activity of the medical students participating in their research was insufficient (16). Physical activity levels drop sharply between adolescence and adulthood, so paying special attention to the state of mobility in young people is particularly important (17). Student period is one of the periods in which individual habits and behaviors undergo changes (18). Students usually have bad eating habits (19).. Incorrect food pattern in young years is one of the underlying factors for the onset of chronic diseases in middle age and causes a gradual increase in the weight of young people, which results in obesity and overweight in middle age (20). Obesity is related to chronic diseases (21). Due to the high health costs, these diseases impose a heavy economic burden on countries (18). Examining the diet of students and their eating habits is very important for their health during and after their studies. Therefore, it is necessary that all age groups, especially students, should be considered in terms of food plan to prevent chronic diseases in the following years. Studying the diet of students of different universities in Iran shows the inappropriate eating habits of students (22). which indicates a serious problem in the student group.

Abedi et al.'s study showed that 29.3% of female students of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences were overweight and 6.9% were obese(23). Qolipour and Tabrizi's study also showed that 19.29% of Sharif University of Technology students were overweight and obese (24). Faizi et al reported the prevalence of obesity in female students of medical sciences in Ardabil as 14% (25). The study of Sira and Pavlak [10] also showed that 15.2% of students were thin, 21.3% were overweight and 10.8% were obese (26). A study by Ahmad Nia et al. showed that 56.8% of nursing and midwifery students had an unfavorable lifestyle in terms of nutrition (14). A study by Salem et al also showed that 10.7% of medical students were overweight, 1.4% were obese, and 13% were underweight and malnourished (27). The study of Talai et al also showed that 15% of medical students were overweight and 4% were obese (20). Erazosta et al [11] showed that 19.3% of students were overweight and 4% were obese (28). Kordakis et al.'s study [12] also showed that 40.5% of medical students were overweight and 7.4% were obese (21).

Stress is also one of the major causes of many mental disorders, heart diseases, cancer, digestive and skin disorders (29). which can lead to the occurrence of physical and mental diseases (anxiety and depression), dysfunction in performance and adaptability, and finally lowering the quality of life of students (30). It can also have a negative effect on learning, self-care behaviors and mental health of these people. Therefore, reducing stress and teaching adaptation skills should be a priority (31). Students had an average level of stress management. 51.6% of students suffer from depression, 39.5% from anxiety and 71.7% from stress. And 52 percent of the students had abnormal stress

Interpersonal relationships are also one of the main dimensions of the World Health Organization's life skills program, which was compiled in order to prevent and increase the mental health of people in society (37). The study by him and colleagues [13] showed that students had more skills and abilities in the field of interpersonal relationships (4).

The study of the World Health Organization on the health behaviors of 35 countries of the world showed that nearly 60% of the quality of life and health of people depends on their lifestyle and personal behavior (38). 53% of the causes of death are related to lifestyle and unhygienic behaviors (39).

Health-promoting behaviors reduce the incidence of diseases and cause a decrease in mortality (38). Hence, the health talk, which previously focused on the treatment of the disease, has now turned its attention to the prevention and provision of health through the improvement of lifestyle and the elimination of factors that have a negative effect on the level of human health (2).

Since, teenagers and young people are among the risk groups of the society and risky behaviors with the formation of habits often start and continue in this age period. Their right behaviors can be strengthened and their wrong behaviors can be prevented (40). Many young people are exposed to a wide range of unhealthy habits, such as improper nutrition, inactivity, insufficient rest, and risky behaviors such as alcohol use and substance abuse, which lead to adverse health outcomes (41). Students are in a dynamic transitional period of growth and development, which is a bridge between adolescence and youth (42).